Saul began by reflecting on the 'reset' that corporate
thinking is going through. Shareholders and CEO's are increasingly looking for
social and environmental value coupled with financial value, but many CSR
(corporate social responsibility) programs are still designed to reduce risk.
Recalibrating from risk reduction to value maximization is proving to be a
significant hurdle for companies.

The problem comes down to perspective. Risk reduction
essentially means making the problem less bad. Instituting 'no sweatshop'
rules, but not attacking the social problems that breed child labor. Reducing
waste, but not imagining (or designing for) a future with zero waste.

Value maximization, on the other hand, is about making
sustainability pay. Building systems that not only proactively improve the
environment and society, but do so in the process of generating profit. In
essence, designing sustainability right into business innovation strategy.

In order to achieve true socially responsible value
maximization, corporations need make the leap to a new way of thinking.

He cited Wal-Mart as an example. A pioneer in
eco-efficiency, Wal-Mart has pushed thousands of suppliers to drive waste out
of their systems.

But the retail giant is thinking about more, as reflected
by the company tagline.

Originally 'Always low prices', the line is now 'Save
money, live better.'

It seems Wal-Mart is focusing on solutions that enable
better living, as opposed to simply lowering prices through efficiency.

Consider the company's drive to lower pharmaceutical
prices, or its decision put organic milk on the shelves. These aren't moves
that lessen waste per se. They're actively doing good and helping Americans
live better.

Can big companies solve big problems?

IKEA and Nike, like Wal-Mart, are big companies making
sustainable solutions part of their strategy. But will other giants be able to
follow suit?

I spoke with Jason Foster, an innovator launching a revolutionary green household cleaning product called Replenish later this year.

He believed that when it came to sustainable solutions in
consumer packaged goods, big companies would not lead. They had simply spent
too much time and capital optimizing their unsustainable products (and generating
steady shareholder returns based on that model).

Yes, they would be able to make incremental changes—and
their products would be less bad as a result. But their business models simply
didn't allow for radical change.

It would be small companies, with no ingrained business
models and legacy products, who would create paradigm-shifting solutions.

So where does that leave products like Green Works? Are
they a radical anomaly, or are they too a green tweak on an old model?

Questions to ask

According to Saul and Foster, companies building
sustainability into their innovation DNA are going to be rethinking not only
solutions, but problems.

They'll be asking if the problem being solved can find a
solution somewhere else in the value chain. Can sweatshop labor be solved by
bringing education systems to developing economies, and taxing factories to
support this education?

They'll also be asking if there are models in nature for
solving problems. Consider the exploding field of biomimicry, and how using
this imitation of natural processes has been used to create everything from
Velcro to a natural self-cleaning solution for the Sydney opera house.

With questions like these, stay tuned for solutions that challenge our perceptions, to say the least.

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And I loved the theme of biomimicry throughout the conference (starting with my pal Asheen Phansey's presentation on Monday).

The 'zero waste' topic you highlight above is 'my thing'. To me, it is all about working across company lines to make the business ecosystem more efficient. In nature, the lion isn't going to make it to zero waste by himself. It's too hard for him to get his giant nose into the crevices of a carcass. It's easier for him to kill another antelope. Luckily, there is an entire ecosystem of vultures and other critters that turn the lions waste into their resource. I'm a big fan of vultures!

I don't know that this is exactly a new or revolutionary concept. It basically comes down to a company having a purpose BEYOND PROFIT! Yes, every company needs to be profitable, but their focus does not, nor should not be on the profits. Sustainability has become the buzz word beginning in the 90's and has moved forward now into the 21st Century. Sustainability is all about doing NO HARM and leaving everything your company effects on the planet earth as good or better than when you arrived. And, in a nutshell, it all comes down to the company's true, internal culture. Should anyone be interested in rating their company and sharing their stories, I suggest you visit http://www.ydoiworkhere.com Thank you.